Run The Race Well

Run The Race Well

Guest writer: Alicia Thomson | ASL by: Ruth Kirkos

I did not want to exercise today. Why? I just did not feel like it. But as I think about the Tokyo Olympic Games, I think about all of the hard work, dedication, and discipline that is required by each athlete to compete at this elite level.  The amount of time spent on training is astounding!  I am sure there were many times when each athlete did not feel like training.  However, in order to become an elite athlete and compete in the Olympics, an athlete must choose to do the hard work involved in training regardless of what he or she feels like doing at the moment.

In the same way, Paul tells us believers to train diligently in the spiritual things to become more like Jesus while we are here on earth.  He admonishes us to run the race well.  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, Paul tells us, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we (believers in Jesus) do it to get a crown that will last forever.” 

Paul tells us believers to train diligently in the spiritual things to become more like Jesus while we are here on earth

One of the things we need to do in order to train ourselves to run our spiritual race well is reading the written Bible or viewing the ASL translation of the Bible on a regular basis.  The Bible is the inerrant Word of God and how He directly communicates with us today in addition to prayer.  Satan is nicknamed the “father of lies.”  As a fallen angel, Satan is well versed in God’s Word and knows how to use it to manipulate or sway believers into thinking the wrong things.  Filling our minds with God’s Truth is one way that we can resist the devil when he tries to tempt us!